Customer experiences and satisfaction with The Pensions Advisory Service

Transcription

1 Research report Customer experiences and satisfaction with The Pensions Advisory Service by Alex Thornton, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Richard Lloyd and Heather Rose

2 Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No 724 Customer experiences and satisfaction with The Pensions Advisory Service Alex Thornton, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Richard Lloyd and Heather Rose A report of research carried out by TNS-BMRB and GHK Consulting Ltd. on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions

3 Crown copyright You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or This document/publication is also available on our website at: Any enquiries regarding this document/publication should be sent to us at: Department for Work and Pensions, Commercial Support and Knowledge Management Team, Work and Welfare Central Analysis Division, 3rd Floor, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1H 9NA First published ISBN Views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the Department for Work and Pensions or any other Government Department.

4 Contents iii Contents Acknowledgements... vii The Authors... viii Glossary... ix Abbreviations...x Summary Introduction Overview of TPAS Background to the project Note regarding the analysis Report structure Respondent profile Gender Age Employment status Representatives Respondent profile qualitative interviews Awareness of TPAS Sources of awareness Telephone respondents Postal respondents Status of the query/complaint Status of the query/complaint Nature of the query/complaint Contact with the pension scheme provider (postal only) Outcome of the complaint (postal only) Whether TPAS have reached a decision Happiness with the decision reached Clarity of explanation for the decision... 24

5 iv Contents Agreement with decision Findings from the qualitative interviews (postal respondents) Experience of the service provided by The Pensions Advisory Service Point of access Ease of access to contact details Use of the TPAS helpline (postal only) Use of (postal only) Use of the TPAS website Number of times contacted/prevalence of contact Responsiveness Speed of response (postal only) Speed of answering the call (telephone only) Rating the information provided Perceptions of the written correspondence (postal only) Perceptions of the adviser (telephone only) Length of the call Satisfaction with the service provided by The Pensions Advisory Service Overall satisfaction Drivers of satisfaction customer priorities and influences on satisfaction Drivers of satisfaction for postal customers Drivers of satisfaction for telephone customers Other service performance measures Likelihood of re-use or recommendation of TPAS Likelihood of re-use of the TPAS helpline (telephone only) Qualitative findings postal and telephone customers Likelihood of recommending TPAS Perceptions of the best aspects of the service Areas for improvement in the service (problems difficulties) Whether experienced problems or difficulties Description of problems or difficulties... 62

6 Contents v 7 The Pensions Ombudsman Awareness of the Pensions Ombudsman (telephone only) Contact with the Pensions Ombudsman Referring between TPAS and the Pensions Ombudsman (postal only) Conclusions and recommendations Conclusions Satisfaction overall and key drivers Recommendations Appendix Study methodologies List of tables Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 2.3 Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 5.3 Table 5.4 Gender profile by type of pension scheme for telephone and postal respondents (percentages) Age profile by type of pension scheme for telephone and postal respondents (percentages) Employment status for TPAS telephone and postal respondents (percentages) Sources of awareness (telephone) gender and employment status (percentages) Sources of awareness for TPAS postal respondents by pension scheme (percentages) Steps taken by the pension provider to resolve the complaint, by pension scheme (percentages) Agreement with the decision made, by happiness with the decision (percentages) Use of the TPAS website by age and type of query/complaint for telephone and postal respondents Satisfaction with speed of call answer, by speed of answer (percentages) Agreement with statements about the information provided for telephone respondents (percentages) Agreement with statements about the information provided for postal respondents (percentages) Table 6.1 Potential drivers of overall satisfaction for postal respondents Table 6.2 Potential drivers of overall satisfaction for telephone respondents (percentages)... 51

7 vi Contents Table 6.3 Likelihood of recommending the service, by speed of correspondence and overall satisfaction for postal respondents Table 6.4 Best thing about TPAS for telephone respondents (percentages) Table 6.5 Best thing about TPAS for postal respondents (percentages) Table 6.6 Whether experienced problems or difficulties, by speed of correspondence and overall satisfaction for postal respondents (percentages) Table 6.7 Description of problems/difficulties for postal respondents (percentages) Table 7.1 Contact with the Pensions Ombudsman for postal respondents Table A.1 Breakdown of sample and achieved interviews for telephone customers Table A.2 Best thing about TPAS for telephone respondents (percentages) Table A.3 Best thing about TPAS for postal respondents (percentages) Table A.4 List of figures Description of problems or difficulties experienced for postal respondents (percentages) Figure 2.1 Age profile for telephone and postal respondents (percentages) Figure 4.1 Happiness with the decision reached by TPAS (postal only) Figure 5.1 Speed of response for postal respondents Figure 5.2 Speed of answering call for telephone respondents Figure 5.3 Agreement with statements about the written correspondence from TPAS (percentages) Figure 5.4 Agreement with statements regarding the TPAS adviser (percentages) Figure 6.1 Overall satisfaction (percentages) Figure 6.2 Agreement with service performance measures postal only (percentages) Figure 6.3 Performance rating for helpline attributes telephone only (percentages) Figure 6.4 Likelihood of recommending the service Figure 7.1 Direction of referral for postal respondents who contacted the Pensions Ombudsman Figure A.1 Breakdown of sample and achieved interviews for postal customers... 75

8 Acknowledgements vii Acknowledgements This study was commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions, and we are particularly grateful to Aisha Riaz, Vicky Petrie, Sian Moley and Hannah Lockley for their guidance and support throughout the study. We would also like to express our thanks to the staff of The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) for their support and assistance with sample development, and for giving of their time to be consulted throughout the research process. Finally, we would also like to express our appreciation to the customers of TPAS who participated in the main survey elements of the study, and to those who also took part in the follow-up qualitative research.

9 viii The Authors The Authors Alex Thornton is a Senior Associate Director at TNS-BMRB with ten years experience primarily in the field of social and market research. His work has included the evaluation of public policies and programmes, including helpline evaluations for public sector clients. Nicholas Fitzgerald is a Senior Research Executive at TNS-BMRB. Nicholas is a quantitative and qualitative researcher with a wide range of experience in both the UK and New Zealand. His main research interests include environmental issues and education. Richard Lloyd is a Principal Consultant at GHK Consulting Ltd, with 20 years consultancy experience with a particular focus on the evaluation of public sector projects, policies and programmes. Heather Rose is a consultant at GHK. She has worked on a variety of labour market issues and evaluations within GHK, and has a particular interest in qualitative research.

10 Glossary ix Glossary Mean Occupational pension scheme Personal pension scheme A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) plan or scheme Stakeholder pension scheme State Pension age An average value created from the sum of all values divided by the number of these values. All data have equal influence on the mean, so it may not always be a very good measure of central tendency for data that include outlying values or which are unevenly distributed. A pension scheme set up by an employer for the benefit of employees, with the employer making contributions to the scheme and generally meeting administrative costs. The scheme is provided via the employer, but the pension scheme takes the form of a trust arrangement and is legally separate from the employer. Types of occupational scheme include defined benefit, defined contribution and hybrid schemes. A pension which is provided through a contract between an individual and a pension provider. The survey only covered employees personal pensions where the employer made a contribution. This report makes a distinction between personal pensions, which are arranged by individual employees, and group personal pensions, access to which is facilitated by an employer. A type of personal pension plan which works in the conventional way for contributions, tax relief and eligibility. The main difference is that the SIPP has a more flexible approach to investments. A conventional personal pension generally involves the plan holder paying money to an insurance company for investment in an insurance policy. A SIPP allows the plan holder greater freedom in what to invest in and for the plan to hold these investments directly. A personal pension scheme which complies with regulations which limit charges and allow individuals flexibility about contributions. Introduced in April Employers with five or more employees who do not provide an occupational scheme or a group personal pension with an employer contribution of three per cent or more have a legal obligation to provide access to stakeholder pension schemes, but are not obliged to make contributions. The age at which a person can claim their State Pension.

11 x Abbreviations Abbreviations DWP FSA IT NDPB NHS TPAS TPS Department for Work and Pensions Financial Services Authority Information Technology Non-Departmental Public Body National Health Service The Pensions Advisory Service The Pension Service

12 Summary 1 Summary Introduction This report provides the findings from a study into customers experiences of, and satisfaction with, The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS). TPAS is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and provides information and guidance to members of the public regarding a range of pension issues as well as helping resolve complaints and disputes. TPAS provides a telephone helpline and a complaints and disputes service. The telephone helpline offers information and guidance on pensions, covering general pension-related queries, information on individual rights and advising on suitable contacts if queries are not appropriate for the helpline service. The helpline received over 74,000 calls during 2009/10. The complaints and disputes service works with individuals who have already attempted to resolve their disputes in writing, with an adviser being allocated to attempt to resolve the dispute through mediation and conciliation. This aspect of the service is largely based on written communication. In 2009/10, TPAS received approximately 7,500 complaints, of which around 2,500 were allocated for investigation. These 2,500 cases represent the complex complaint workload which was in scope for the postal survey. In addition, TPAS dealt with around 16,000 questions and enquiries in 2009/10. Communication with TPAS can also take place via , and their website received over one million visits in 2009/10. Study aims and methodology The main aim of the study was to explore customer experiences of TPAS, including their expectations of, and levels of, satisfaction with the services received, and identify where the service is performing well or where it could be improved. The study methodology included both quantitative and qualitative components. In the quantitative element 500 telephone helpline customers were interviewed by telephone between March and July 2010, and 790 customers using the written complaints service (and including both completed and ongoing cases) responded to a postal survey via self-completion questionnaires between May and July The characteristics of the respondents to the quantitative surveys showed that: telephone respondents were evenly split by gender, while two-thirds of the postal respondents were male; most telephone and postal respondents were nearing or over retirement age, with 66 per cent and 74 per cent of the telephone and postal respondents being aged over 55, respectively; over half (58 per cent) of the telephone respondents were in work, most of whom were working full-time, with most of those not working (being retired). Conversely, most (61 per cent) of the postal respondents were not in work, with most (47 per cent) being retired; and around one in five (17 per cent) of telephone respondents described contacting TPAS on behalf of someone else. Following completion of the main quantitative surveys, 20 respondents were selected and recontacted for in-depth qualitative telephone interviews in July and August 2010, allowing their experiences to be explored in more detail. The sample comprised ten respondents to the helpline survey and ten involved in written complaints, and included ten individuals who expressed

13 2 Summary satisfaction with The services provided by TPAS overall and ten who reported being dissatisfied. Of the 20 respondents participating in the qualitative interviews: 15 were male and five female; 15 were over 55 years of age with ten reporting being in work and seven being retired. Awareness of TPAS The study explored the way in which respondents first became aware of TPAS, with a broad range of channels being described. Telephone customers most commonly mentioned finding out about TPAS through the internet (37 per cent), followed referrals from other organisations (21 per cent). Other routes described by the telephone respondents included recommendations by work colleagues or friends, or through printed materials. For postal respondents the most commonly cited source of awareness was the Pensions Ombudsman (20 per cent), followed by pension providers (14 per cent), the internet (13 per cent) and respondents companies or organisations (ten per cent). Sources of awareness for the telephone and postal respondents also differed according to other variables, including gender, working status and age. For example, the proportion of telephone respondents citing hearing of TPAS via the internet decreased with age. The qualitative interviews identified that while few difficulties were reported in finding contact details for TPAS, the view emerged that more could be done to raise the profile of the service (and hence awareness) more widely. Status of the query/complaint The postal respondents were at different stages of the complaint process. The complaint process had ended for just over half (52 per cent) of the respondents, with the process being ongoing for the remainder. The share of respondents whose complaints were in the early stages was very small (just one per cent). The majority (91 per cent) of the telephone respondents described that their queries had been answered either in full (70 per cent) or partially (21 per cent) at the time of interview. Calls to the telephone helpline could cover more than one topic area, with the most common amongst respondents taking part in the survey being about state benefits/the state pension (46 per cent), followed by occupational pensions (37 per cent) and personal pensions (33 per cent). The postal respondents, on the other hand, most commonly contacted TPAS with complaints regarding their occupational pensions (59 per cent), followed by personal pension schemes (29 per cent). The large majority of postal respondents had contacted their pension provider about their complaint before contacting TPAS. Where postal respondents complaints had reached a decision 1 /outcome, just over half (56 per cent) were either very of fairly happy with the decision reached, while one-third reported being fairly or very unhappy. Over three-quarters (79 per cent) reported that the explanation provided for the 1 In this context decision refers to the outcome in relation to the service provided by TPAS or the choice made by the TPAS staff member to either refer the case to the appropriate ombudsman service, or to state that in their opinion the customer does not have a case which merits further attention.

14 Summary 3 decision reached was clear, with almost two-thirds (64 per cent) agreeing with the decision reached. Understandably agreement with the decision was closely linked with their happiness with the decision reached. The qualitative interviews with postal respondents where complaints had been completed also explored their happiness and agreement with the outcome. Their happiness with the outcome was closely linked to their agreement with the decision and with their initial expectations illustrating the importance of managing customer expectations from the outset. Experience of the service provided by TPAS Most of the respondents described finding the contact details for TPAS fairly straightforward, with 81 per cent of telephone and 83 per cent of postal respondents describing finding contact details very easy or fairly easy. Just over half of the postal respondents had also sent or received correspondence by , with use being most likely amongst the younger customers. Fewer than half of all respondents had used the TPAS website 44 per cent of postal and 42 per cent of telephone respondents where use was again linked to age. At least half half of all respondents (49 per cent for telephone and 74 per cent for postal) used the website to find information relating to their complaint prior to contacting TPAS, showing its importance as a signpost and an information source in its own right. The frequency of contact with TPAS varied by customer type with the majority of telephone respondents (69 per cent) calling the helpline on a single occasion. Postal respondents, by the nature of their interaction with TPAS, experienced more frequent contacts, both in writing and by telephone, often in the first instance for guidance on taking their complaints forward. Most telephone and postal respondents rated TPAS responsiveness to their contacts positively. Two-thirds of postal respondents described the speed of response as good or very good, and were positive about being kept up to date with the progress of their complaints with 72 per cent stating they had been updated sufficiently frequently. The allocation of a named adviser providing a single point of contact for the duration of their complaint was also highly valued. In the case of the telephone respondents, most reported their calls being answered either immediately or reasonably promptly, with 93 per cent being satisfied with the call waiting time. Both sets of respondents (postal and telephone) also rated the quality and appropriateness of the information provided to them by TPAS highly generally finding this to be clear and concise, up to date and valuable in helping them decide their next steps. Postal respondents were broadly positive about the written correspondence received from TPAS. Almost three-quarters felt that the complaint process had been explained clearly to them from the outset, including what TPAS could, and could not, help them with. However less than half the postal respondents considered that correspondence from TPAS gave clear timings for what they could expect to happen next. The telephone respondents were strongly positive in their views of the adviser they spoke with with almost all (over 90 per cent) considering their adviser to have been polite, attentive and knowledgeable, and to have presented the information in an impartial manner and behaved in a professional manner throughout.

15 4 Summary Satisfaction with TPAS Overall satisfaction with the services provided by TPAS was high amongst both respondent groups with 94 per cent of telephone and 67 per cent of postal respondents being either very or fairly satisfied with their experience of the services provided by TPAS. For the postal respondents, the main influences on overall satisfaction appeared to be the speed of correspondence, whether they had experienced any problems or difficulties with the service, and, where relevant, their happiness with the outcome of their complaint. The quality of written correspondence was also an influence in terms of being clear and concise, accurate and up to date, and helping the respondents to decide what to do next. The qualitative research confirmed that satisfaction with the outcome of a complaint was a key driver of overall satisfaction for the postal respondents. This emphasises the importance of providing clear guidance on what postal customers can expect from the service, in terms of being able to address their complaint or query, at the outset. Overall satisfaction for the telephone respondents was influenced by the speed at which their calls were answered, and whether they felt that their query had been wholly or partly answered. Their views of the adviser they spoke with were also important to overall satisfaction, in terms of whether they understood their query, were seen as knowledgeable, were attentive and behaved in a professional manner. In addition to these key drivers of satisfaction, most postal respondents considered that TPAS had investigated their complaints in a professional and impartial manner, and had investigated them thoroughly. Most of the telephone respondents were also positive about the provision of information they needed or being put in touch with a person to help them, and let them know the next steps to take. On the basis of their experience to date, 96 per cent of the telephone and 75 per cent of the postal respondents indicated that they were likely to recommend TPAS to others. The Pensions Ombudsman Just over half of the telephone respondents were aware of the Pensions Ombudsman, although fewer than one in ten of these had made contact with them in relation to their query suggesting interactions between telephone respondents and the Pensions Ombudsman were minimal. The postal respondents were more evenly split between those who had (48 per cent), and had not (49 per cent), contacted the Pensions Ombudsman in relation to their complaint. Where the postal respondents had contacted the Pensions Ombudsman in relation to their complaint, two-thirds described contacting them in the first instance and subsequently being referred to TPAS. Conversely, just over a quarter (28 per cent) described being referred to the Pensions Ombudsman having made initial contact with TPAS. In most cases the postal respondents referred between TPAS and the Pensions Ombudsman considered the explanation provided for their referral to be clear (79 per cent), and 68 per cent were satisfied with the speed at which their complaint had been referred. The survey findings suggest that the referral process was well managed from the respondents perspective.

16 Summary 5 Conclusions and recommendations The study concluded that levels of satisfaction with the services provided by TPAS amongst both the telephone and postal respondents was high with 94 per cent and 67 per cent of respondents, respectively, reporting being very or fairly satisfied. While satisfaction levels for the telephone customers would be difficult to improve upon, the postal respondents were more likely than telephone respondents to be neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and to express dissatisfaction, with the service to date. While those who were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied could be due to not wishing to comment on complaints which were ongoing, it is clear that the outcomes of a complaint, and the extent to which this matches with customer expectations of an outcome, has a strong influence on overall satisfaction. However, even when not happy with the outcome reached, most postal respondents reported positively on other aspects of the service. The key drivers of satisfaction for telephone respondents included: the time taken for their call to be answered; the extent to which their query had been addressed; and their views on the adviser they dealt with including their ability to understand the query, knowledge, being attentive and behaving in a professional manner. For postal customers the key drivers were: the speed at which TPAS answered their correspondence; whether the information provided was clear, concise, accurate, up to date and of value in helping them decide what to do next; and the individuals happiness with the decision reached in some cases being the overriding factor given the potential importance of the outcomes reached. In many cases, it appears that some of the factors influencing postal respondent satisfaction were beyond the control of TPAS, often relying on the timely supply of information by pension providers. Beyond respondent happiness with the outcomes achieved, it was difficult to prioritise between different drivers of satisfaction. However, for postal respondents in particular, initial expectations of achievable outcomes and whether TPAS would solve their pension problem irrespective of its actual validity, underpinned their overall view of the service. The resulting recommendations focused on ensuring that TPAS continues to provide the high levels of customer service to maintain high levels of satisfaction as identified in the study. In addition: the study identified the importance of customers expectations of the services provided by TPAS and the importance of setting realistic expectations for the outcomes of postal complaints at the outset. Ensuring that staff have the appropriate soft skills to deal with emotional or agitated customers will continue to be important; a number of respondents felt more could be done to raise awareness of TPAS more widely, and suggested providing posters in community areas, including contact details in information from pension providers, and raising their profile with employers.

17 6 Introduction 1 Introduction This report outlines the findings of a study into the customer experiences and satisfaction with The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS). It was commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in TPAS is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) and is funded solely by DWP through its grant-in-aid allocation which is recovered through the General Levy on pension schemes. TPAS is non-statutory and has its own independent board. DWP provide a stewardship role and both TPAS and the DWP work together to set the body s direction and activities. The survey results will help inform future decisions on the focus of TPAS delivery. This chapter includes a short description of TPAS, the background to the project and a note regarding the analysis. 1.1 Overview of TPAS TPAS is an independent, non-profit organisation funded by the DWP. TPAS provides information and guidance to members of the public regarding a wide range of pensions issues including occupational, personal, stakeholder and state pension schemes and can help resolve complaints and disputes. The staff include technical and administrative employees, who are supported by experienced pensions and legal professionals working on a voluntary basis. Between 50 per cent and 60 per cent of the disputes investigated by TPAS were handled by volunteer advisers, and the rest are dealt with internally. The key aspects of TPAS are the telephone helpline, queries about pensions which could be either straightforward or complex dispute cases, and workplace visits. As this study focuses on the helpline and complex dispute case work, comments contained in this report will only apply to those parts of TPAS. The telephone helpline offers information and guidance about pensions. TPAS staff and voluntary advisers can cover general pension-related queries, issues regarding the rights of those with pension schemes, provide information about benefits and the state pension, attempt to help with complaints and disputes and advise on who to contact if the query is not appropriate for the helpline service. During the 2009/10 financial year over 74,000 calls were made to the TPAS helpline. TPAS can also support members of the public to resolve complaints and disputes regarding pensions. This aspect of the service is largely based on written communication and complaints about the state pension or state benefits are not covered by the service. The service is provided by a network of volunteers supported by a paid team of ten technical advisers. In 2009, 59 per cent of disputes investigated by TPAS were allocated to volunteers and the paid team investigated the balance. The service received around 7,500 complaints in 2009/10, of which 2,500 were allocated for investigation. Written complaints could be in regard to a number of subjects; however, in 2009/10 the main subjects were maladministration (48 per cent), disputes about entitlement (20 per cent) or ill-health or early retirement applications (12 per cent). TPAS also provides a website which offers information and guidance regarding state and private pensions for employees, employers and self-employed people. This is a growing part of the service and in 2009/10 there were over one million visits to the site.

18 Introduction Background to the project The main aim of the project was to develop an understanding of customer experiences of TPAS. This included investigating perceptions and expectations of TPAS, levels of satisfaction with the service received (and influences on this) and where the service is performing well and where improvements could be made. The project included both qualitative and quantitative elements and covered the telephone helpline and the disputes and complaints service. In the quantitative aspect of the project telephone helpline customers and written complaint service customers were surveyed separately. Telephone interviews were conducted with 500 telephone customers from 4 March to 4 July These individuals had been recruited to the survey during a call they made to the helpline between 1 February and 9 June Self-completion postal surveys were completed and returned by 790 customers of the written complaints service between 24 May and 9 July The initial mailout was sent to a census of eligible respondents who had not opted out of the study. It included a mix of both open and closed cases which were originally received between April 2009 and April Following the completion of the telephone and postal surveys, a sample of 20 individuals was selected and re-contacted for qualitative telephone interviews undertaken to explore their experiences of the service in more depth. The sample was drawn from individuals responding to the telephone and postal surveys (split ten and ten respectively), and those who had expressed satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the services received to date (again a ten and ten split, respectively). The interviews were undertaken between the 25 July and 15 August An in-depth description of the survey methodology including survey tools can be found in the Appendix. 1.3 Note regarding the analysis Throughout the report, where possible, the results of the telephone and postal customer surveys have been presented alongside one another. Direct comparisons between the two have, however, been restricted to a small limited number of sections. This format has been chosen as the telephone and postal surveys were largely similar and therefore presenting results as one report (rather than two distinct reports) reduces repetition and allows for comparisons where it is sensible to do so. Direct comparisons between telephone and postal respondents should be treated with caution for the following reasons. Firstly, the two aspects of the service differ in their approach, scope and objectives. Secondly, some of the questions included in the surveys differ from one another to some degree. Thirdly, the methodology used to collect this information is clearly very different. These three factors limit comparability of the services, therefore it is suggested that readers do not make their own comparisons across the two aspects of the service and make use of comparisons only where they have been specifically included in the text. Direct comparisons between the telephone and postal results have only been included for the most generic measures where questions are identical. For example, it is possible to make direct comparisons of the respondent profile and levels of overall satisfaction. Due to the limitations of the sample size, it is not always possible to compare survey findings for sub-groups within the survey populations. For example, it is not always possible to analyse by type of query/complaint. Further analysis is, however, possible across telephone respondents calling in relation to occupational pensions, personal pensions or a state benefits/pensions, but not for

19 8 Introduction those calling about a stakeholder pension or a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). For postal respondents sub-group analysis is possible across occupational pension and personal pension complainants, but not for stakeholder or SIPP complainants. Particularly within the postal survey, for some questions, a small minority of respondents chose not to select a response. This is typical of self-completion postal surveys. Throughout the report nonresponses and (where utilised) not applicable options have been excluded from the analysis. Throughout the commentary of the report the following terms have been used and are defined as below. For further definitions of relevant acronyms please see the abbreviations list. Postal respondents customers of the TPAS complaints and disputes service who were deemed eligible and had completed and returned the postal questionnaire. Telephone respondents customers of the TPAS helpline service who had completed the telephone survey. Open case a case which TPAS considers ongoing, where communication between the complaints and disputes service and the customer is still occurring. Closed case a case in which TPAS is no longer actively involved and communication between the complaints and disputes service and the customer is no longer occurring. The current study separates telephone helpline customers (telephone respondents) and complaints and disputes service customers (postal respondents) according to the dominant mode of communication with TPAS. It is recognised that customers may use more than one mode of communication during their customer journey, for example, complaints customers may about their complaint, or even telephone the helpline. However, in order to provide clear and targeted feedback the two services have been separated in this manner and questions focus on the most recent call (for telephone respondents) and the last time you wrote (for postal respondents). Please refer to Sections and for further discussion of this point. Finally, the findings from the qualitative element of the study have been included throughout the report as relevant and appropriate, and are clearly identified throughout. 1.4 Report structure The remainder of this report is structured as follows: Chapter 2 describes the profile of the telephone survey, postal survey and qualitative interview respondents; Chapter 3 explores the ways in which the study participants became aware of TPAS; Chapter 4 describes the status of the participants queries or complaints, and explores the outcomes of the postal complaints and their views on the decisions 2 reached; Chapter 5 reviews the experience of the services received, and participants views of the information received and other key service variables; 2 In this context decision refers to the outcome in relation to TPAS or the choice made by the TPAS staff member to either refer the case to the appropriate ombudsman service, or to state that in their opinion the customer does not have a case which merits further attention.

20 Introduction 9 Chapter 6 explores participants satisfaction with the services provided by TPAS, in terms of satisfaction both overall and by component, identifying the key drivers of satisfaction; Chapter 7 describes the links identified between TPAS and the Pensions Ombudsman; and Chapter 8 provides our conclusions and recommendations. The report also contains a technical appendix, setting out the methodologies followed in the quantitative and qualitative fieldwork, and the fieldwork tools used.

21 10 Respondent profile 2 Respondent profile This chapter provides an overview of the profile of respondents for the telephone and postal surveys, and for the participants in the qualitative interviews. This includes analysis of gender, age, working status and whether the query or complaint was for the respondent s own purposes, or on behalf of someone else or a group. 2.1 Gender Gender was recorded in both the telephone and postal surveys. While gender was evenly split for telephone callers (53 per cent male compared with 47 per cent female), the majority of postal respondents were male (67 per cent compared with 33 per cent female). As can be seen in Table 2.1, differences in gender were present across the types of query or scheme the respondent was calling about. Telephone respondents calling about an occupational pension scheme were mostly male (62 per cent), while callers regarding a personal pension scheme were split fairly evenly between male and female. In contrast, the majority of respondents calling with a query regarding a state pension were female (55 per cent). As the postal service does not deal with complaints about state benefits this may account for some of the difference in the overall gender profile between telephone and postal respondents. The gender profile of postal respondents whose complaint was regarding an occupational pension scheme was very similar to that of telephone respondents interested in the same topic (63 per cent male, 37 per cent female). However, postal respondents whose complaint was regarding a personal pension scheme were largely male (72 per cent male, 28 per cent female). This was clearly different to the gender profile for telephone respondents. Table 2.1 Gender profile by type of pension scheme for telephone and postal respondents (percentages) Occupational pension scheme Personal pension plan State benefits/ state pension Total Telephone respondents Male Female Base Postal respondents Male Female Base

22 Respondent profile Age All respondents were asked to give their age which was categorised into ten-year age brackets. As expected, the vast majority of respondents were nearing or over retirement age, with 66 per cent of telephone and 73 per cent postal respondents aged 55 or over. In both surveys, the age bracket representing the largest proportion of respondents was As can be seen in Figure 2.1 the age profile of telephone respondents and postal respondents was broadly similar, though telephone respondents were slightly younger on average. The second largest group of telephone respondents was made up of callers aged between 45 and 54. Respondents aged 65 or over made up a further 15 per cent of all callers, while those aged 44 or under constituted only 12 per cent. Just over a quarter of the postal respondents were aged 65 or over, which made this group the second largest age bracket. As with the helpline caller age profile, people aged made up about one-fifth of callers. People aged made up only a very small proportion of all postal respondents (five per cent) while almost no postal respondents were aged under 35 and just one was aged under 25 hence, postal respondents aged 34 or under have been excluded from Figure 2.1 below. Figure 2.1 Age profile for telephone and postal respondents (percentages) Percentages Telephone respondents 0 5 Postal respondents or over Base: Telephone 494; postal 790. For telephone respondents, the age of the caller also appears to be related to the pension scheme that the respondent was contacting The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) about.

23 12 Respondent profile As Table 2.2 shows, telephone respondents calling about occupational or personal pension schemes were younger than those calling about a state pension. Only 24 per cent of those calling about state pension were aged under 55, while 41 per cent and 40 per cent of callers were under 55 for occupational and personal pension schemes respectively. The age profile for occupational pension schemes and personal pension plans was very similar for telephone callers. Table 2.2 Age profile by type of pension scheme for telephone and postal respondents (percentages) Occupational pension scheme Personal pension plan State benefits/ state pension Total Telephone respondents Under Aged Aged Base Postal respondents Under Aged Aged Base Within postal respondents, those whose complaint was in relation to an occupational pension tended to be slightly younger than those whose complaint was in relation to a personal pension. While 29 per cent of occupational pension complainants were aged under 55, only 19 per cent of personal pension complainants were in this age band. Also, one-quarter of occupational scheme complainants were aged 65 or over compared with nearly one-third of personal pension plan complainants. Please note that customers who communicated with TPAS via only were excluded from the survey. As discussed in Sections users tend to be younger than telephone and postal customers. Therefore, if this group had been included in the study the customer profile would have most likely have been different, with a larger percentage of working and younger customers. Due to the low percentage of respondents (both telephone and postal) in the younger age brackets, throughout the analysis (as in Table 2.2) these individuals have been grouped into the under 55 age bracket. 2.3 Employment status Employment status was collected for all telephone and postal respondents. In all cases working fulltime was defined as working 30 hours or more per week. Working part-time was defined as working less than 30 hours per week. The differences described below reflect the inherent differences between telephone and postal respondents the former consisting of people often with general queries about a current or potential pension scheme, the latter consisting of people with complaints about how a pension scheme has been administered (and as a consequence containing a high proportion of retired people).

24 Respondent profile 13 As can be seen in Table 2.3 almost six out of ten telephone respondents (58 per cent) were employed, two-thirds of whom were in full-time work and one-third in part-time work. Four out of ten telephone respondents (41 per cent) were not working, most of whom were retired. A small proportion of telephone respondents (five per cent or under for each group) were unemployed or signing on for Jobseeker s Allowance, not registered unemployed but seeking work, looking after family or home and not seeking work, or long-term sick or disabled. In contrast to telephone respondents, the majority of postal respondents were not working (61 per cent), most being retired, although a sizeable minority were working. This included 26 per cent employed full-time and 19 per cent part-time. As is described below, the difference between the employment status of telephone and postal respondents is related to the difference in age profile between these two groups. Table 2.3 Employment status for TPAS telephone and postal respondents (percentages) Total Under Telephone respondents Working (net) Working full-time (30 hours or more per week) Working part-time (less than 30 hours per week) Not working (net) Retired Registered unemployed/jobseeker s Allowance Not registered unemployed but seeking work Looking after family or home/not seeking work Long-term sick or disabled Base Postal respondents Working (net) Working full-time (30 hours or more per week) Working part-time (less than 30 hours per week) Not working (net) Retired Registered unemployed/jobseeker s Allowance Not registered unemployed but seeking work Looking after family or home/not seeking work Long-term sick or disabled Base * Due to low base size the percentages for telephone respondents aged 65 or over should be taken as indicative only. Age is clearly linked with working status. As can be seen in Table 2.3, the proportion of respondents not working (including retired) increased with age for both telephone and postal respondents.

25 14 Respondent profile The proportion of telephone respondents who were not working was 22 per cent for those aged under 55. This increases to 42 per cent for the age group and 80 per cent for those aged 65 or older (all but two per cent of whom were retired). The pattern is similar for postal respondents, with 39 per cent of the under 55 age group not working (including only 11 per cent retired). The majority (58 per cent) of those aged were not working and for postal respondents aged 65 or over, 86 per cent were not working, almost all of whom were retired. Minor differences in employment status were present across the types of pension scheme respondents were writing to TPAS about. Those writing in relation to a personal pension plan were more likely to not be working than respondents writing about an occupational pension scheme. This was largely driven by the proportion who were retired. 2.4 Representatives All telephone and postal respondents were asked whether their query was for their own purposes or on behalf of someone. Around one in five (17 per cent) telephone respondents were representing another person when they made the call to TPAS. Although representatives made up a relatively small number of telephone respondents (87 in total) some sub group analysis was possible. A relatively large proportion of representatives were male (61 per cent, compared with 51 per cent calling on their own behalf), and aged 65 or over (30 per cent compared with 12 per cent who called on their own behalf). Consistent with this age profile, 37 per cent of representatives were retired, compared with 22 per cent of those calling on their own behalf. The majority of representatives (57 per cent) were calling with a query regarding a state benefit or pension, which is relatively high compared with those calling on their own behalf (43 per cent). This profile suggests that many representatives are men who may be calling on behalf of a spouse or an elderly family member who is nearing state retirement or already receiving a state pension. Only three per cent of postal respondents had contacted TPAS about a complaint that was not for themselves. This consisted of two per cent who had written on behalf of another individual and one per cent who were contacting TPAS on behalf of a group of people, for example, as a member of a pension fund that they belong to. As the number of respondents in this group is very low (27 in total) sub-group analysis was not possible. 2.5 Respondent profile qualitative interviews Twenty participants in the telephone and postal surveys were selected and re-contacted to explore their experiences in more detail through in-depth telephone interviews. The 20 selected interviewees comprised of: 15 male and five female respondents; four aged between 45 and 54, ten between 55 and 64 and five aged 65 and over with one declining to provide their age; and ten respondents described being in work, three as not working and seven who were retired. In terms of the focus of the individual query or complaint, eight respondents were enquiring about occupational pensions, five about personal pensions, and five about state pensions. The remaining respondents had queries about different pension types the first about personal and occupational pensions, and the second about stakeholder and occupational pensions.